On tap at Bavarian Lodge in Lisle Il. They said it was the only place in the USA to have it on tap so i felt obligated to get a pour. It was served in a 11oz footed tumbler

It poured a muddy dark brown with hints of red along the side. A nice dense bone colored head caps the beer.

The smell is of just a little funk and some dark fruits and raisins. The aroma profile is in the same ball park as an excellent BSDA but not quite hiting all the notes. It was billed as a beer that lovers of Flanders, Lambics and Geuze styles wil appreciate but the funky aspect of the nose is lacking as well.

Th flavor is much the same with the nose again. The funkiness that is there is mostly brett with some lactic tang. There is no real acetic component which is my favorite sour flavor. Behind the light tartness is a mediocre BSDA with some overly ripe dark fruit flavors that plays nicely with the present oak character.

The mouthfeel is nice and chewy with a medium to low carbonation level. I was unaware of the ABV when drinking the beer but now that I see it is at 9% I'm impressed that there wasn't a trace of that to be found in the beer.

I think this beer suffers from a split personality, unsure if it wants to be a regular oak aged BSDA or a dark sour ale and can't really pull them both off at the same time very well.

Thanks to egajdzis for sharing this foamer...Appears a hazy dark brown with a small beige head that never fades away. Scattered bits of lacing are left around the glass.Smell is of cardamom, ginger, bubblegum, clove, and toffee.Taste is of the aromas with flavors of raisins, oaky wine, cocoa, and vanilla.Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sweet, fizzy, slightly sour, and oaky.

Picked this up on a lark - have heard of issues with infection, so I won't be surprised. Still, into a Duvel tulip it goes.

Heavy-handed powdered ginger is the color of the head. Although over a finger it doesn't stick around too long. Body is turbid brown; reminds me of my days auditing poop plants for the EPA. Mmmm...who's hungry NOW?!

Aged in oak? Yep, oak's in there. And something else is going on, as feared. Definitely funky; there's some nice dark malt in there, along with some piney hops. And, alas, a little bit of lacto or some other beastie boys in there.

It's spritely and pretty damn dry, but that's not entirely what we're looking for. Pretty sure some lacto or other infection dried this crazy deal out wicked fierce. But still, it doesn't taste horrible with the nice dark malts and piney hops. Slightly root beer like in a way.

Carbonation is nicely effervescent if out of style. Light helping of roast and piney hops again shows up on the finish. After a half hour, the fuel chills and I'm actually getting more true BSDA characteristics that emerge.

Drinkability is fair to middlin'. It is what it is...they are who we thought they were...it's an infected Belgian stout or BSDA that still tastes pretty good. You take the risk and if there's some enjoyment out of it, so be it. I enjoyed it to an extent. As much as the makers wanted me to? Doubtful. Let's hope the QC issues are resolved, 'cause it has promise.

I was expecting an eruption but only got an agressive hiss and a little foam up to the top.

The pour is deep chestnut brown with a big foamy beige head. Definitely a tin of carbonation.

Aroma is really spicy with cardamom and oak dominating. There is a little fruity tartness but really just a wine-like character, nothing like an infection. The sugary fruits of the underlying beer are present but definitely have faded with time.

Taste is similar to the aroma but with the dark fruits taking on a more prominent role. The cardamom is a bit lighter but the finish is all about the oak - spicy and dry but with hints of grapes and tartness.

Mouthfeel is highly carbonated and maybe a tad light for the style.

Definitely not at the top of list of BSDAs but it's a seriously tannic version of the style. The oak and spices are dominant.

Also known as Balthazar the Oak, this was a 750mi bottle, corked and caged that was generously shared by Dave at the Brick Store Pub. The Alvinne website lists an oak aged Balthazar in a smaller bottle as being aged for 6 months on oak chips. I assume this is similar. After the cage was removed, the cork exploded out of the bottle with such force that it popped a bolt out of the metal celing of the vault. The beer then came pouring out of the bottle with lots of foam. Luckily it settled down, and even more luckily it wasn't infected. Poured a hazy brown with a thin, foamy head. Smells a bit funky, but it hasn't turned to the point where its bad, just picked up some of the critters from the oak. Funky with overripe fruit. The taste is slightly sour with more overripe fruity funk. Starting to border on band-aid and medicinal, but doesn't go there yet. If you've got one of these, in my opinion you should drink up unless you like that band-aid taste. For me, that's the one flavor I hate in a funky beer. Right now, it still has some richness and creaminess and some of the typical Belgian yeast notes can still be tasted along with the slight sourness and fruity funk. Interesting, and good to very good as is, but has peaked.